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Salvati Manni L, Wood K, Klapproth A, Warr GG. Inelastic neutron scattering and spectroscopy methods to characterize dynamics in colloidal and soft matter systems. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 326:103135. [PMID: 38520888 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2024.103135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Colloidal systems and soft materials are well suited to neutron scattering, and the community has readily adopted elastic scattering techniques to investigate their structure. Due to their unique properties, neutrons may also be used to characterize the dynamics of soft materials over a wide range of length and time scales in situ. Both static structures and an understanding of how molecules move about their equilibrium positions is essential if we are to deliver on the promise of rationally designing soft materials. In this review we introduce the basics of neutron spectroscopy and explore the ways in which inelastic neutron scattering can be used to study colloidal and soft materials. Illustrative examples are chosen that highlight the phenomena suitable for investigation using this suite of techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livia Salvati Manni
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; School of Chemistry, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, NSW, Australia; Australian Synchrotron, ANSTO, 800 Blackburn Rd, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Kathleen Wood
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
| | - Alice Klapproth
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
| | - Gregory G Warr
- School of Chemistry, University of Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
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Kikuchi T, Tominaga T, Murakami D, de Souza NR, Tanaka M, Seto H. Detailed dynamical features of the slow hydration water in the vicinity of poly(ethylene oxide) chains. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:064902. [PMID: 38341782 DOI: 10.1063/5.0185432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is a well-known biocompatible polymer and has widely been used for medical applications. Recently, we have investigated the dynamic behavior of hydration water in the vicinity of PEO chains at physiological temperature and shown the presence of slow water with diffusion coefficient one order of magnitude less than that of bulk water. This could be evidence for the intermediate water that is critical for biocompatibility; however, its detailed dynamical features were not established. In this article, we analyze the quasi-elastic neutron scattering from hydration water through mode distribution analysis and present a microscopic picture of hydration water as well as its relation to cold crystallization.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Kikuchi
- Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan
| | - T Tominaga
- Neutron Science and Technology Center, Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society (CROSS), Tokai 319-1106, Japan
| | - D Murakami
- Faculty of Humanity-Oriented Science and Engineering, Kindai University, Iizuka 820-8555, Japan
| | - N R de Souza
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, New Illawarra Rd., Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
| | - M Tanaka
- Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - H Seto
- Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan
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Granek R, Hoffmann I, Kelley EG, Nagao M, Vlahovska PM, Zilman A. Dynamic structure factor of undulating vesicles: finite-size and spherical geometry effects with application to neutron spin echo experiments. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2024; 47:12. [PMID: 38355850 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00400-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
We consider the dynamic structure factor (DSF) of quasi-spherical vesicles and present a generalization of an expression that was originally formulated by Zilman and Granek (ZG) for scattering from isotropically oriented quasi-flat membrane plaquettes. The expression is obtained in the form of a multi-dimensional integral over the undulating membrane surface. The new expression reduces to the original stretched exponential form in the limit of sufficiently large vesicles, i.e., in the micron range or larger. For much smaller unilamellar vesicles, deviations from the asymptotic, stretched exponential equation are noticeable even if one assumes that the Seifert-Langer leaflet density mode is completely relaxed and membrane viscosity is neglected. To avoid the need for an exhaustive numerical integration while fitting to neutron spin echo (NSE) data, we provide a useful approximation for polydisperse systems that tests well against the numerical integration of the complete expression. To validate the new expression, we performed NSE experiments on variable-size vesicles made of a POPC/POPS lipid mixture and demonstrate an advantage over the original stretched exponential form or other manipulations of the original ZG expression that have been deployed over the years to fit the NSE data. In particular, values of the membrane bending rigidity extracted from the NSE data using the new approximations were insensitive to the vesicle radii and scattering wavenumber and compared very well with expected values of the effective bending modulus ([Formula: see text]) calculated from results in the literature. Moreover, the generalized scattering theory presented here for an undulating quasi-spherical shell can be easily extended to other models for the membrane undulation dynamics beyond the Helfrich Hamiltonian and thereby provides the foundation for the study of the nanoscale dynamics in more complex and biologically relevant model membrane systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rony Granek
- Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering, and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel.
| | - Ingo Hoffmann
- Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), 71 Avenue des Martys, 38042, Grenoble, CEDEX 9, France.
| | - Elizabeth G Kelley
- Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA.
| | - Michihiro Nagao
- Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Petia M Vlahovska
- Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Anton Zilman
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, 60 St George St, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A7, Canada
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Shih KC, Leriche G, Liu CH, He J, John VT, Fang J, Barker JG, Nagao M, Yang L, Yang J, Nieh MP. Antivesiculation and Complete Unbinding of Tail-Tethered Lipids. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:1688-1697. [PMID: 38186288 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
We report the effect of tail-tethering on vesiculation and complete unbinding of bilayered membranes. Amphiphilic molecules of a bolalipid, resembling the tail-tethered molecular structure of archaeal lipids, with two identical zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine headgroups self-assemble into a large flat lamellar membrane, in contrast to the multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) observed in its counterpart, monopolar nontethered zwitterionic lipids. The antivesiculation is confirmed by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cyro-TEM). With the net charge of zero and higher bending rigidity of the membrane (confirmed by neutron spin echo (NSE) spectroscopy), the current membrane theory would predict that membranes should stack with each other (aka "bind") due to dominant van der Waals attraction, while the outcome of the nonstacking ("unbinding") membrane suggests that the theory needs to include entropic contribution for the nonvesicular structures. This report pioneers an understanding of how the tail-tethering of amphiphiles affects the structure, enabling better control over the final nanoscale morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Geoffray Leriche
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | | | - Jibao He
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | - Vijay T John
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
| | | | - John G Barker
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Michihiro Nagao
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Lin Yang
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Jerry Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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Gupta J, Sharma VK, Srinivasan H, Bhatt H, Sakai VG, Mukhopadhyay R, Mitra S. Modulation of Phase Behavior and Microscopic Dynamics in Cationic Vesicles by 1-Decyl-3-methylimidazolium Bromide. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:504-518. [PMID: 38126298 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic cationic lipids have garnered significant attention as promising candidates for gene/DNA transfection in therapeutic applications. The phase behavior of the vesicles formed by these lipids is intriguing, revealing intricate connections to the structure and dynamics of the membrane. These phenomena emerge from the complex interplay between hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions of the lipids. In this study, we explore the impact of an ionic liquid-based surfactant, 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (DMIM[Br]), on the structural, dynamical, and phase behavior of cationic dihexadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DHDAB) vesicles. Our investigations indicate that the addition of DMIM[Br] increases the vesicle size while thinning the membrane. Further, DMIM[Br] also induces substantial changes in the membrane phase behavior. At 10 and 25 mol %, DMIM[Br] eliminates the pre-transition from coagel to intermediate crystalline (IC) phase and decreases the onset temperature of the main phase transition to the fluid phase. In the cooling cycle, the addition of DMIM[Br] further induces the formation of an intermediate gel phase. This behavior is reminiscent of the non-synchronous ordering observed in the DODAB membrane, a longer-chain counterpart of DHDAB. Interestingly, at 40 mol % of DMIM[Br], the formation of the intermediate gel phase is largely suppressed. Neutron scattering data provide evidence that the addition of DMIM[Br] enhances lipid mobility in coagel and fluid phases, suggesting that DMIM[Br] acts as a plasticizer, enhancing membrane fluidity across all of the phases. Our findings infer that DMIM[Br] modulates the membrane's phase behavior and fluidity, two essential ingredients for the efficient transport of cargo, by controlling the balance of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyoti Gupta
- Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Veerendra Kumar Sharma
- Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Harish Srinivasan
- Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Himal Bhatt
- High Pressure & Synchrotron Radiation Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Victoria García Sakai
- ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | | | - Subhankur Mitra
- Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai 400094, India
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